Crafternoon: A Guide to Getting Artsy and Crafty with Your Friends All Year Long

INTRODUCTION

the sweet history and philosophy of CRAFTERNOON

This is the story of Crafternoon. Once upon a time in February 2002, I was living in San Francisco, the beautiful city by the sea. By day, I worked at a nonprofit, and by night, I spent most of my time putting on sketch comedy shows with my friends. We were a creative and dynamic group of folks devoted to making funny performances. That month we were putting up a new show, and in honor of this occasion, my mom was coming for a visit. And whenever my mom came for a visit, we always had a rocking good time.

Since my mom was flying all the way from New York to California to show her love for me, I wanted to show some love in return, so I decided to throw her a party. But my mom is not the sort of mom who does keg-stands. More power to those moms, I suppose, but my mom’s a chiller. So I had to figure out what type of party my mom would dig the most.

Conveniently enough, my mom and I are both huge fans of the day of St. Valentine. You can call it a Hallmark holiday until the cows come home, but as far as my mom and I are concerned, Valentine’s Day rules the school. Especially when you show your love with something handmade. Do you see where I’m going with this? I was thinking party, then I was thinking valentines, then, boom, I was thinking: Valentine-Making Party.

See, my mom loves to craft. In fact, She’s Crafty by The Beastie Boys is actually dedicated to her. Okay, I’m lying about that, but she is an outrageously crafty lady. The lady knits, she crochets, she sews, she embroiders, she smocks, she weaves, she draws, she collages, she etceteras, etceteras, etceteras. She rocks craft! My mom knows how much people value things that are made by hand, and she just so happens to be great at making those things. She has always believed in the importance of a handknit baby sweater or a needlepoint pillow. She made pot holders for our entire comedy group as a token of her love. Yes, pot holders—she can do anything!

When I was a kid, my mother was always coming up with different crafts for my brother and me to do, whatever the season. And this made my house a popular place to visit. Recently, I’ve run into some friends that I haven’t seen since grade school. Time and again, they wax poetic about a gingerbread house we decorated together or some T-shirts we designed at my house. My mom always came up with interesting projects to keep us stimulated, and decades later, people still remember.

So in February 2002, I hosted a little party. And though this gathering was not yet dubbed Crafternoon, it was a Crafternoon all the same. My friends and my mom gathered at my house, then we sewed and we cut and we drew our way to creating handmade displays of old-fashioned romance. We were armed with paper of many colors, as well as glitter and fake fur and old magazines and glue sticks and crayons and markers. We feasted on cupcakes, cookies, finger sandwiches, and pots of tea. The scissors were passed all around, the needles were threaded through fabric, and the fun spilled everywhere.

It was more awesome than I could have imagined. What I thought would just be a cool little party where my mom could hang out with my friends turned out to be something else as well. For as my friends crafted fuzzy wristlets and paper hearts and insane medallions to express their affection, the love of craft was re-kindled inside me.

I carried this love cross-country in September of 2002 when I moved from California back to New York City. I was born and raised in New York City, so it was a homecoming journey. Yes, I crossed this big country called America, knitting for hours on end as my then boyfriend drove us east. His days and days of driving earned him my very first knit project—a scarf of many colors filled with tons of love.

I settled in Brooklyn, and the transition was hard at first. But I was now just a borough away from my family, so my mom and I could have quality time whenever we liked. Sharing an apartment with my best friend in the world and rediscovering old friends who had been far away for so long helped a lot. Soon enough, I added to the friend stew with some new buds, then before I knew it, it was time to throw another Valentine-Making Party.

So in February 2003, I gathered my New York friends and my mom for an afternoon of cupcakes and craft. I didn’t even consider doing it without my mom—her presence at the first party was a huge part of what had made it so fun. My New York friends love her, too. In New York, as in San Francisco, it seems that so many people are living far from their families. Everyone likes to have my mom around to give crafty advice or even just to add spice to conversations. She is patient and kind with her instructions, and she makes everyone feel at home. And that’s what Crafternoon is really all about.

But the boyfriend and I had broken up, so I didn’t much feel like watching boys and girls make lovey-dovey eyes at each other while they crafted their homemade valentines. So I made it an all-girls party, and it was a huge success. At the end of this party, we came to a decision—it was too fun to wait a whole year to do again. This had to become a regular gathering. Boys might even be allowed. And so it was born, the afternoon of craft, or what has come to be known as Crafternoon.

Crafternoon speaks to that space inside all of us that wants to make things and share the things we make with those we love. To some people in the world of fancy craft, the things we make may seem weird or unsophisticated, but that doesn’t matter. Crafternoon is all about being around friends who support your work, who encourage your growing craftiness, and who inspire and get inspired by you. Crafternoon is about getting back to the roots of crafting. It’s about getting pleasure out of the process as much as the product. It’s about making room for the input of other crafters and allowing yourself to be open to new ideas. It’s about the contentment you feel when you are surrounded by happily crafting friends, friends who can see the beauty in imperfection, the pleasure of happy mistakes. Your inspiration can come from out of the blue or by watching someone making something extraordinary out of something that looked ordinary moments ago. Crafternoon has the feeling of craft time in preschool, when crafting is all about the joy of playing with materials and looking at other people’s art and trying to make yours as big as your imagination. In a community engaged in the process of making, it is easy to find something newly beautiful. And the bonus is, you wind up with something special to take home and treasure or give away to be treasured by another. Crafternoon is about making what you want, how you want it, to the best of your ability. And even if you may not think of yourself as a rock star of creativity, it’s there inside you. At Crafternoon, you are a CraftStar.

In San Francisco, I had been lucky to be surrounded by friends who were always making things—comedy shows and music and videos and T-shirts and jokes. Though I have just as many wonderful, creative friends in New York, lives often move in a million different rapidly changing orbits in this big apple of a city. And it can be hard to bring people together no matter where you live. Crafternoon is the thing that pulls people in from every part of my life, gathers them in one place for a few hours, and teaches them how to stitch something. And that’s no small thing.

Plus, Crafternoon is a neutral ground where different social circles seamlessly come together. There is no pressure to make romantic connections; there is no assumption that any business deals will be made. All that is to be expected to come of a good Crafternoon is a warm feeling and maybe something handmade. And unlike other gatherings that can be divided by generations, Crafternoon has room for people of all ages. Because it’s not just my mom who makes the Crafternoon circle expand. It’s my friend Marie and her young daughter Madeline, and it’s Lucas, a boy I used to babysit, and his mom, Winona. It’s the younger sister of my high school friend who is now in high school herself. And it’s the other moms and aunts and friends of Mom’s who make the event a more textured and therefore more joyful affair. For the nonparents of my age group, intergenerational interaction is predominantly relegated to family events, but Crafternoon builds a community that promotes generational inclusiveness. I think of knitting circles and quilting bees and fishermen gathering to mend their nets—groups gathering to support each other through crafts.

The Importance of Imperfection

Craft is certainly making a comeback in the mainstream, but all too often, the preached and published craft is mostly about perfection. The magazines and television shows demonstrate crafts that seem obsessed with being neat and well executed. But that’s not what Crafternoon is about. I am not a perfect crafter, nor do I care to be. I am an enthusiastic crafter, a crafter who learns at my own pace, a crafter who will not be intimidated by the expectations of others. I craft because it makes me happy and because I seek to make others happy through my craft. It’s not a competition for me. I am not good at drawing, and my sewing is sloppy. I don’t have the patience to embroider something without it looking messy, I can’t string little beads to save my life, and I cannot follow a knitting pattern. I like the possibilities that open up to someone when she approaches a craft without limitations. But I am always open to learning and am inspired by people whose skills vary from mine.

Take quilting. I’ll tell you how to do all sorts of quilting projects, but I’m not going to tell you how to trim. Any instructions that involve 45-degree angles are more than either you or I bargained for. Making an entire quilt is just way too complicated for me to explain in one chapter. That’s why I’m giving you a taste, a sampler, if you will, of what each craft has to offer. After all, this book is about projects that can be done or almost totally done in one afternoon. The book isn’t called CrafterWeek. That’s the sequel, baby.

Craft can be practiced by anyone, regardless of the skill or artistry that has come to be demanded by those who preach craft. Like a good meal, a good Crafternoon shouldn’t need much—a few quality ingredients, a couple of good friends, and a little bit of creativity. So turn the page and let’s get started on the journey of Crafternoon!

CHAPTER ONE

JANUARY

Knotty or Nice

It’s January, you’ve got bills to pay and gifts to return. The holiday hubbub has a way of draining every last ounce of energy out of a person. If you’re a confirmed crafter, you probably spent most of November and nearly all of December crafting till your hands hurt. And even if you’re not a crafter, you probably had to wrap the heck out of some presents. Holidays mean ribbon wrangling and paper folding, all with the goal of dazzling your gifts’ recipients. Quite frankly, you might feel a little bit sick of crafty activities. But fear not, gentle crafter! The remedy for your crafting fatigue is right around the corner. You’re going to start the year off on the right foot, and that foot is Crafternoon!

Each new year is filled with the promise of endless possibilities. It’s tradition to make resolutions, and it’s an even bigger tradition to break them. But this year is going to be different—this year is The Year of the Crafternoon. And this is one resolution you will stick to like macaroni on construction paper. You want to break out of the postholiday funk that’s hanging over you like a cartoon cloud. You have the urge to socialize, but the thought of wearing your little black dress makes you woozy. You want to play hostess to your friends, but you refuse to stuff another little pig into a little dough blanket. Well, you’ve come to the right place—you’ve come to Crafternoon country.

The first Crafternoon of the year should be something new and exciting. It shouldn’t require a lot of expensive materials, because most of us have empty pockets come January. So you’re looking for an exotic but low-cost craft. Let’s assume that some of your friends have been knitting up a storm in preholiday prep. After all, it seems that the handknit scarf has become the fruitcake of our generation. It may not be as unwelcome, but it’s becoming as ubiquitous. But how many of your friends have been knotting up a storm? Unless you reside on Gilligan’s Island or surround yourself with nautical mates, chances are a Knotting Crafternoon will be just the sort of exotic, low-budget craft to kick off your CrafterYear!

Since I’d decided on knotting as my New Year’s kickoff craft, I needed to find someone to lead me and my fellow crafters to knotting glory. My friend Chris’s dad is a sailor, and he practices the art of knotting every day as he sails the Hudson River. This seemed like an alignment of the craft stars, and I got very, very excited. I wanted to host the knotting Crafternoon right away with Chris’s dad at the helm. But sailors are married to the sea. Turns out you can’t just hop off the boat for a few hours. His two-month tour had just begun when I thought of the knotting idea, so he wasn’t available to lead the knotting brigade. But a friend of a friend who was practiced in the art offered to lend his skills to the crafty cause, and so my Knotting Crafternoon idea was saved.

As a side note, knotting struck me as the sort of craft that appeals to the menfolk and the womenfolk alike. I’m not trying to be sexist or sexy, I’m just saying that seamen have been knotting for centuries now. It’s a macho, dude-approved sort of craft, if you’re looking at it through that sort of lens. Me, I think all crafts appeal equally to dudes and to ladies. But in my experience, the ladies often hop on the crafting trends faster than the dudes. I aim to change that, one crafty dude at a time, and where better to start than with some extreme knotting!

GET THE WORD OUT AND SET UP YOUR SPACE

Get people in seats with a fun email invite. This is the email I sent to entice my crafters to tie themselves into knots for craft’s sake:

Boys and girls who love to craft, this email is for you! This Saturday at 2 p.m., Crafternoon is the place to be. The theme? Why, it’s Knots and Whatnot!

Why Knots? Well, a crafter on the list wanted some lessons on knotting, and I thought that sounded rad! So he found us a surprise guest to teach the ways of the ropes, sailor style. Knowing how to make good knots is a practical art! Ever tie furniture to a car or make a rope swing? If you’ve got the knot know-how, then, oh, how fun your days of tying can become! Bring a bit of the ropes and learn them! And if anyone knows macramé, well then, show us how!

Why Whatnot? Well, Whatnot is what you can do if you feel the crafting fever but are allergic to rope. Bring any craft project you like, and you can work on it in the company of friends. As always, there will be the Mother Crafter (my mom) on hand to answer your craft questions.

I do hope I might see you there! Please be encouraged to bring a treat along to share, a beverage or a cake or some savory delights. Savory treats are extra-especially welcome!

xoxo,

Maura

This email worked like a charm, especially with the menfolk. I think it was the comment about tying furniture to a car. Dudes love to tie furniture to cars. It’s a primal instinct, the need to tie big things to vehicles. It worked like an invitational charm. In fact, the turnout for my Knotty Crafternoon was small but dude-heavy. We had fewer than ten people in attendance, and half of those people were dudes. I like that in a Crafternoon. Having a solid showing of dudes is a good sign that you’ve chosen a craft with a wide appeal. Again, I’m not saying that ladies craft more than dudes, I’m just saying that nine times out of ten, more ladies show up for my Crafternoon than dudes. So it’s cool when you find a craft that evens the playing field.

That Crafternoon was a mix of old friends and new ones. Crafternoon has a way of making that happen. Myra, who has been my friend since first grade, was on spring break from her job as a college photography professor, so she joined the knotty crew. Gideon, a college friend who is a civil rights lawyer, showed up. It was an honor to know that he was taking time out of his packed schedule to sit down and tie some knots with us. And Ruben, the leader of the pack, was a guy I’d never met before. But he came highly recommended by Paul, an artist who came along, too. And of course, my mom was in attendance. Of all of the Crafternoons I’ve hosted, I think she’s missed only one. She is definitely the number one fan of Crafternoon. It was an eclectic and inspiring group of crafters, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

KNOTTY SUPPLIES

As far as materials go, I personally love a simple length of white rope. Nevertheless, I was pleased when Ruben, our craft leader, brought along a coil of black rope. To get your supplies, head to your local hardware store and grab some rope of various widths and colors and materials. I think that cotton rope is the way to go when you’re crafting. I like the way it looks, and I like the way it feels when you’re getting your craft on. I mean, rappelling down a rock face might require a rope built to endure extreme elements, but pretty cotton rope accessories won’t be used to save you from a 100-foot drop. At least I hope they won’t. If you have a tendency to find yourself in MacGyver-esque situations, go ahead and choose a synthetic rope to craft with. I don’t want you cursing my name as you hang from a cliff by your swiftly fraying Monkey’s Fist